Nintendo

Square Enix is aiming for next February to beta test the Wii U version of Dragon Quest X.

Nintendo Just Unveiled Its Own iTunes

It’s called Recochoku (レコチョク). That’s short for “Record-Chokusetsu” or “Record Direct”. And it looks to be Nintendo’s take on iTunes. As Kotaku commenters have pointed out, this is an existing music service in Japan. Nintendo is bringing it to its handheld. The service begins on the 3DS this December in Japan, and there will be…

Portable Gaming Rules in Japan

One of the more noticeable differences between the East and the West is the prevalence of the handheld console. The popularity of handhelds in Japan is fairly understandable. For one thing, the high population density makes open space one of the island country’s most precious commodities. Also, the widespread use of public mass transit leads…

Upcoming 3DS title Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth goes on sale in Japan on November 23.

Animal Crossing Getting “Nintendo Town”

In the upcoming Animal Crossing 3DS game, there will be a “Nintendo Town” (ニンテンドー村　or “Nintendo Mura”). It will have various Nintendo themed items to check out and collect. Here’s a first look.

New Super Mario Bros 2 DLC Announced

In their October 25th Nintendo Direct stream, Nintendo has announced the release of 2 new packs for New Super Mario Bros 2 The first is the Gold Mushroom Harvesting Pack (Difficulty 2 out of 5), the second is the Record Challenge B Pack (Difficulty 3 out of 5). Both packs will be available after the…

Fluidity Wants to Turn the 3DS Upside Down

WiiWare title Fluidity is heading to the 3DS as a downloadable title this December in Japan. The game will take advantage of the 3DS’s gyro function, having players rotate their handhelds to play the game. Nintendo Direct [Official Site]

Jam With The Band is heading to the Nintendo 3DS next year.

Postcards from Japan’s Most Eagerly Awaited 3DS Game

Next March, Monster Hunter 4 is slated for the 3DS. The game is a huge boon for Nintendo as it will definitely move loads of 3DS portables. So many Japanese gamers cannot wait to play this game! Today, Capcom released a handful of “field” screenshots, showing off the game’s scenery and locations. Monster Hunter 4…

One Child’s Dream Day Inside Nintendo’s Japanese Headquarters

Nintendo is notoriously guarded when it comes to corporate visits. While companies like Namco Bandai and Sony are only too happy to throw open their studio doors to the press, getting inside Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters when you don’t work there is almost impossible Oh, unless you’re Gareth Bailey, a British kid who in 1994 won…

Hope you weren’t thinking of getting a Wii U from GameStop this year; their waiting list is over 250,000 strong

ESRB Opens No-Cost Ratings Service for Digitally Distributed Games

Downloadable games sold through the three console makers’ online services will be rated by what the Entertainment Software Ratings Board is calling a “streamlined, no-cost service,” in a statement released today by the ESRB. The new “Digital Rating Service” gives developers and publishers access to a “brief but detailed online questionnaire” to define a product’s…

This New Professor Layton Commercial Is So Bad It’s Kinda Good

It comes full circle! What is it with Nintendo and Penelope Cruz, by the way? Do they have some sort of Penelope Cruz commercial quota to hit this year? Genuinely curious.

Pro Wrestler Who Dresses as a Classic Nintendo Wrestler Gets In Trouble At WWE Show

The New Jersey-based wrestling league Pro Wrestling Syndicate has a guy wrestling for them who goes by the name Star Man. The inspiration for his character? The star-faced character from the old Nintendo Entertainment System game Pro Wrestling (the one the “A Winner is You” meme comes from.) Star Man isn’t in the big leagues…

The Nintendo 3DS’ Other Problem Appears To Be The DS

Nintendo says the 3DS’ sales in the U.S. are “weaker” than hoped. Experts will blame everything from the popularity of gaming on tablets and phones to a not-yet-overwhelmingly-great software line-up for the 3DS. Maybe…. But maybe that darn Nintendo DS is to blame. From the beginning of April 2012 through the end of September, the…

Skylanders Completists, One of These New Wii Bundles Knows What You Want

Nintendo may have an all-new console coming out in justa few weeks, but that’s not going to stop them from tempting folks to pick up a Wii any way they can. The company just announced two new bundles for their aging hardware, one of which is designed to get rabid toy collectors like Kotaku‘s own…

The Nintendo Anime of my Dreams

Seeing as my anime preferences fall within the boundaries of “giant metal death machines”, and not “girls with enormous cute faces”, I haven’t enjoyed much Japanese animation in the last decade or so. But so help me I would watch this show. Especially if it was about the girls’ attempts to rescue a couple of…

Why Japan Should Thank Nintendo. And Why It Shouldn’t.

Spend any time on Japanese websites, blogs, and forums, and you’ll eventually see it: ありがとう任天堂. It means “Arigato Nintendo” or “Thank you Nintendo”. “Arigato Nintendo” is a meme in Japan. It first appeared on popular Japanese game site Sinobi in 2009 in a piece that detailed the staggering first day sales of New Super Mario…

Nintendo Says the 3DS Is Doing “Weaker” in the West Than Expected

Nintendo really turned things around for the 3DS. For a while, due to a variety of reasons (some out of Nintendo’s control), things did not look good for the handheld. Now, there are a bunch of games, and the 3DS is really starting to come into its own. That doesn’t mean it’s meeting Nintendo’s lofty…

The Result of Nintendo’s Investigation into Underage Foxconn Workers

From the sound of it, kids as young as 14 could have assembled the Wii U. Last week, Nintendo issued a statement to Kotaku, saying it was looking into the matter. Today, Nintendo offered Kotaku an update on the results of its investigation. According to Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America’s senior director of Corporate Communications,…